الفهرس 
IntoductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 212 |  |  |
| | | from | 212 | | |
Abstract
Aim of the work
This study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic utility of ultrasonograghic imaging in early detection of joint damage compared to X-ray and to asses activity measures and biochemical markers in follow up study of patients with early arthritis and to indentify the prognostic markers of the early arthritis.
We conclude the following:
- Anti-CCP2 is a useful serological test for establishing the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and is associated with disease severity, radiological damage, and disability.
- MMP3 is an important marker of severity of the inflammatory arthritis also it can predict the radiological progressin in early diseases.
- Sonography detected more synovitis than clinical examination in patients with oligoarthritis.
- Ultrasonography (US) is an increasingly used technique for the evaluation of inflammatory joint diseases. It has been shown to be sensitive in the detection of synovitis and bone erosion in small even in early undifferentiating arthritis.
Recommendations
- Anti-CCP2 should be included in the routine evaluation of patients with early inflammatory arthritis because it is useful for diagnosis.
- Testing for anti-CCP2 is also recommended in patients with established RA, since it identifies the subset of patients with more severe and disabling disease.
- The excellent reproducibility of US in detecting small joint synovitis suggests that it may have advantages over clinical examination in assessing disease activity in RA, possibly leading to the inclusion of US as an outcome measure in clinical trials.